Artistic Statement

In his search for the purest expression of beauty, the Belgian photographer Dirk Lambrechts (° 1962) explores the limits of a formal simplification of an image through a slow work of introspection and a perfectly mastered technique.

Dirk Lambrechts’s photos are a reflection of art history and a personal reflection inspired by the currents that flowed through it. The Antwerp artist claims in particular a filiation with the old masters of the chiaroscuro which he seeks to translate painting techniques in a form of modern artistic expression that is photography.

The other important aspect of Dirk Lambrechts’ work is his quest for simplicity. This leads him to dive more and more into the main spirit of his images. He compares the culmination of process to what the creator of a Japanese garden is looking for: No more to add, or leave away.

This result is conceivable according to him only if the realization of a series is preceded by a long maturation. Between the birth of an idea and the first shot, the photographer takes the time to think, observe and conduct research to define the most important points of his project.

This meticulous work is prolonged during the execution by a critical analysis of his first tests that he renews until obtaining the desired result.

Their unusual treatment also highlights the craftsmanship underpinned by his photographs, and his ambition to raise his technical level ever higher.

“Faced with what our eyes see, from time to time our brain chooses to retain only a part of reality. We discover lost details that I focus on, “he says.

Dirk Lambrechts deals with familiar subjects as raw materials do, to the point of understanding the essence of their beauty. From this reality, augmented by the photographer’s work of reflection and the mastery of his technique, graphic images of great purity are born